Waiting for You
by Anonyma
Summary: DISCONTINUED It had started all pretty harmless, but then Kenshin had an accident and Kaoru's life turns upsidedown. And the nightmare's just beginning... How would you react if you lose the one you love the most?
1. Losing You

**AN:** This is the story I was talking about in my last chapter of 'Once more with Feeling'. I posted that chapter and suddenly had the urge to write this story. So I sat down and wrote.

This all was made up in one hour, so please bear with me.

This story is rated for a reason! There will be massive psychic pressure in later chapters. You were warned!

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**Disclaimer**

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I own nothing (and am in no mood to write a larger disclaimer).

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**CHAPTER ONE**  
:-:- Losing You -:-:

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_If I'd known what was awaiting me that day I would have begged you to stay home. I wouldn't have let you leave the dojo, no matter what odd looks you would have thrown me or what you would have said. No matter how much you begged or yelled at me. I would even have bound and gagged you, kept savely locked in your room. I would have… _

_… If I'd only known… _

_… you'd still be alive…_

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"Stop it!", Kaoru yelled. When the man strove to attack again she wielded the saya she was clutching and knocked him out cold. _'Next time better **listen** to what I am saying!'_

She nervously looked around if there was anyone of her attackers left, but none of the men moved anymore. All out cold.

"Good…", she said to herself and let the saya sink to the ground, relaxing a bit. Then she looked over to the place where Kenshin was still fighting the last one of the thugs.

It all had started harmless enough.

She'd asked Kenshin if he could accompany her to the town to buy some food. Of course he'd said yes and came, he would always do that. So they went to town, did their shopping and walked back to the dojo. But shortly after they'd left the more busy parts of Tokyo and were walking along the river those guys had stopped them. Two of them were standing right in the middle of the street, stopping them. They had started to flirt with Kaoru, going all 'Why don't abandon that girly-one and come with us _real_ men?', but she'd dealt with that kind of men before. She waved them off, telling Kenshin to stop glaring at them and leave with her. Kenshin had hesitated – the way they treated her drove him mad – but she'd insisted on leaving. And the men wouldn't let them.

And all of a sudden three other men appeared behind them, trapping them. They told Kenshin that if he'd leave the girl to them he'd survive this whole thing. Then they'd drawn swords.

Kenshin immediately let the food he was carrying fall and drew his sword, too. Then he'd handed his saya to Kaoru, 'for self-defense' as he stated simply. She had gladly taken it.

The three men behind had gone for Kaoru, as she was the weaker goal to them. But they were wrong. Now they all laid flat on the ground, maybe broken a bone or two because the saya was made of steel, and would surely wish that they'd never been born as soon as they were awake.

Kaoru wiped away the sweat on her face and went to the direction Kenshin was fighting. The both thugs were really good with a sword. One of them was already out cold, but he had withstood Kenshin's attacks for quite a while. The last one and Kenshin had went down to the riverside during their fight. The thug was a really fast one, nearly matching Kenshin's speed, and of great skill with a sword. Kenshin had a hard time blocking most of his attacks.

But he would be fine, Kaoru was sure of that.

"What is happening here?", suddenly asked a voice behind her. Surprised she whirled around – and nearly hit an old man.

"Ah… su-sumanu…", she stuttered. The old man looked at her, he didn't seem to be scared by the fact that the woman had nearly struck him down. "Well…", she started, "I and my friend, the one with the red hair, were attacked by these other men. They… wanted to rob us, so we defended ourselves."

"I see…"

"Please, could you go get the police?", Kaoru asked.

"Of course.", the man said, "But be sure you don't try to knock _them_ down as well, will you?" He grinned at her and turned to run into town. Kaoru nodded absent-mindedly, already turning back to watch Kenshin's fight.

She frowned as she realized that they were getting even nearer to the river. That was dangerous! The river was flowing so fast that it would surely carry you away, no matter how much you struggled to reach its shore.

Suddenly she heard Kenshin cry out in pain. She focused on him again, only to see that the attacker had managed to slash his right leg. Blood was creeping all over Kenshin's hakama.

"Kenshin!", she called out anxiously. Kenshin gritted his teeth and attacked the man again.

Kaoru ran down to them. This was not good! The wound made Kenshin slower, giving his attacker an advantage he wouldn't miss. She gripped the saya a bit tighter. _'I'll help him.'_, was all that was running through her mind, _'I'll knock the guy down from behind, that's the only way I can help.'_

…

What happened next haunted her dreams for the rest of her life.

It was as if she saw it all happening in slow-motion…

Kenshin found a gap in the attacker's defense and leapt into an attack of his own. Then he sprang back. But the grass he was landing on was wet with his own blood. He slipped on it and fell backwards.

Kaoru saw it all happen and tried to run fast, stretching out her hand for Kenshin to grab it – but she was too slow.

He fell into the river.

A few meters later he emerged out of the water again, clinging frantically onto the grass on the rivershore. The water threatened to pull him under-water.

"Kenshin!", Kaoru called out and ran to him. She grabbed one of his hands and tried to pull, but the water was pulling him the other way, tearing him away. And then she felt his fingers slip.

Wide-eyed she looked at Kenshin and met his scared gaze.

"Kaoru!", he brought out.

Then his hand slipped out of her grip. She saw him being whirled through the water. Then he vanished under the surface.

She stared at the river in shock. _'No.'_ That was all she could think of. _'No.'_

Then she her head realized what just happened. And her heart was torn into pieces. And all she could do was to cry.

"IYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

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**AN:** Should I continue? Please tell me! 


	2. Shock

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**Dislaimer:**

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--------ooo-°(-.-)°-ooo--------

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**CHAPTER TWO  
**:-:- Shock -:-:

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Sano was in shock. 

He'd never been prepared for a situation like this.

Who would have expected anything like this at all?

And all this despair drove him to the edge of crying.

Only he wouldn't.

He had to be strong for his friends. Strong for Megumi who'd cared for Kenshin so much. Strong for Yahiko who'd idolized Kenshin. And strong for her, Kaoru. The one who was in love with Kenshin, and who Kenshin had cared about the most. She would need him the most.

The woman in his arms sobbed, shaking. Sano drew her even nearer to him, hoping that the closeness to him and the beating of his heart would give her any comfort. Anything.

Sano had met his gambling friends earlier this morning. They had gambled their money away, just like always. Then they'd split up, some of them going to work, some of them going home, and Sano went off to the Kamiya-dojo to mooch off some food. 'Cause he knew that Kaoru wouldn't sent him off like Tae did a few days ago. His tab had finally gotten so high that Tae wouldn't let him have any food at all until he paid it.

So he'd gone to the dojo, walking along the riverside. He would never admit it but he found it a very beautiful riverside and he enjoyed walking there. The whispering of the trees, the chirping of the birds and the humming of bees… it all was soothing on his nerves, which were often on the verge of breaking. Whenever he felt like he was going to explode he nowadays chose to take a walk and went to the riverside – instead of beating someone to a pulp.

When he'd walked the riverside today he suddenly heard a woman screaming in agony. Of course he had run off to the rescue… but he stopped as he realized just what kind of scenery lay stretched out before him.

The woman had been Kaoru. She struggled against the iron grip of a man who had his hard time holding her. She screeched and struggled with all her might, and it seemed that she tried to jump into the torrential river. Every now and then she slid on something on the ground, but that wouldn't stop her.

Sano stared at this in horror. _Was that blood?_

Then he ran to her aid and knocked the bastard out cold in one blow. At first she sank to the ground, clearly exhausted from her desperate struggle. But after a few seconds her eyes lit up in shock. She stumbled onto her feed and ran straight for the water! Sano catched her just in time.

She screamed and wailed, stuttering about Kenshin and the river and that she had to follow him, to save him. Sano imitated the man he had just knocked out and held her tightly at her waist.

At first Sano didn't understand. But slowly realization dawned upon him.

Kenshin fell into the river.

And it teared him with it. But the river was flowing so fast… Deep in his mind Sano began to understand what that meant.

There was no chance that Kenshin could have survived that.

Or was there…?

_'Kami-sama… please…'_

Now Sano held Kaoru close to him, muttering words of comfort and stroking her disarranged hair. She was still struggling feebly, but the exhaustion of her earlier fight and the despair finally took their toll. Kaoru sobbed and pressed herself closer to him and he held her even closer. He was the only thing that kept her standing at the moment.

Then Sano heard a police whistle. And suddenly there were about ten policemen running towards them.

_'Sorry guys.'_, he thought, _'But there's nothing you can do anymore… nothing…'_ He felt tears sneaking into his eyes.

"You!", he heard a policeman say, "Release the woman. Now!"

Sano shook his head. "No."

The policemen encircled him, clearly thinking that he was one of the attackers taking her as hostage. Kaoru stirred a little.

"Shh…", Sano whispered, "Hush now…"

"No…" She pressed against his chest, trying to free herself again. And Sano let her go. If she tried to jump into the river again he would be there stop her.

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Kaoru had a hard time staying on her feet. She felt like she was going to collapse the next moment, but she wouldn't let that happen. When Sano let her go she kept a hand on his arms to steady herself. 

One of the policemen spoke to her, worry written all over his face. Kaoru didn't understand a single word. Her mind seemed to block out everything except the numb feeling in her whole body. The shock was deep.

But now she had to tell the police what happened. If she didn't they would suspect Sano to be one of the thugs. So she concentrated on the policeman.

"Miss?", he tried again.

This time she could understand him. Kaoru looked at him and tried to answer.

"H-h… hai?"

Oh, how much her throat hurt… She had screamed so much that her whole throat was sore and felt like on fire… She swallowed.

"Miss… what happened here?", the man looked around, his eyes widening a little when he acknowledged the blood spread all over the ground. "Did this man hurt you?"

Kaoru shook her head. "No…" She grimaced and swallowed again. "Not _he_." Then she pointed at the five unconscious attackers. "He's a friend…", she then continued, nodding towards Sano.

The policeman nodded and made a gesture for her to continue.

"I… 've been with… a man…" Tears welled up in her eyes. _'Kenshin! Where are you?'_

_'Kenshin!'_

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"And where is that man?", the man asked, making notes. 

Kaoru shook her head. Tears were again streaming down her face and she couldn't help but starting to sob again.

"Ano…", Sano interfered, "If I might say something…" He frowned as he felt his voice waver. _'Not now. There will be time for grief, but not NOW.'_

The policeman nodded. His colleagues had in the meantime started to handcuff the unconscious men and waking them.

"Well… when I arrived here he was… already gone. Kaoru was being held back by that bastard over there…", he pointed at the unconscious guy beneath them, "… and she was screaming. I knocked him out and she tried to jump into the river… I caught her just in time…"

Both men threw Kaoru a worried glance. But she just stood at their side, unmoving, numb. Sano sadly registered the empty look on her face…

Then he continued speaking, but his voice had dropped to a mere whisper.

"She was fighting, trying frantically to get to the river, screaming that Kenshin needs help… He fell into the river…"

"_He fell…_"

Sano looked at Kaoru.

"He fell…" She looked around, lost. Then she started moving. Step by step along the river. Sano instantly followed her.

"Oi, Kaoru… where are you going?", he asked. Sano was really worried that she'd try something drastic again, but she was walking slowly. She didn't try to drown herself this time. At last she stopped and picked something off the ground. Something long…

It was the saya of Kenshin's sakabatou.

She stared at it intently. Sano wasn't sure why.

"Kaoru?", he inquired again. When she didn't react he gently laid a hand onto her shoulder. "Jou-chan…"

She started a little when she felt his hand, but then she turned around. Sano's heart sank. Her gaze was so lonely now, so lost, dull even. Kaoru raised the saya, showing it to him.

"Ken… shin's…" Her whisper was barely audible. "Have to… return it… ne?"

"Kaoru…"

She smiled weakly and turned away from him. Walked slowly into the direction the river was flowing. Sano watched her very worriedly. She wouldn't last long… Her strength was eaten away by hopelessness, shock and terror.

"Sir?", the (now forgotten) policeman said.

"Would you mind if we give full evidence tomorrow?"

The man backed away a little, surprised by Sano's forcefully asked question. So he stammered an "Uh… yeah, of course…". But when Sano turned to follow Kaoru he was held back again.

"Excuse me, sir! But I really need to get your names before you leave."

"Oh, yeah… I'm Sagara Sanosuke, and my friend over there is Kamiya Kaoru. We're living at the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu-dojo. Inspector Fujita knows us, he'll surely confirm that. Sorry, hafta go now!", Sano answered in quickly. Kaoru was nearly out of view now… He ran after her.

"Ah!" The policeman watched Sano run, but then he hastily wrote down the names least he forget them. "Well, see you tomorrow…", he then said to no one in particular. Then he helped his colleagues arresting the thugs.

Meanwhile Sano catched up with Kaoru. Once she was out of sight she had speeded up… _'The girl can be damn fast if she wants to.'_

But now they were walking besides each other. Kaoru was scanning the area while walking, and Sano her features. Her face still wore that numb expression, but now mingled with desperate determination. She was really hoping that he'd appear somewhere in sight the next moment. Every now and then she staggered, stumbling because she hit her feet on uneven spots in the ground. She was too fixed on looking around to look at where she was going.

Sano sighed.

Just watching her determined face made him too believe that there was the slightest chance that they might find the small redhead rurouni. He really hoped that it was possible. Kenshin was his best friend ever. Sano couldn't remember how many times Kenshin had already saved him. When he first met him he had tried to kill Kenshin. He'd thrown everything away, just to bring him down. But then the redhead had awoken him from his insanity, giving him a reason to go on living. And Kaoru had given him a home. She had given them all a new home, a new hope. Brought light into their darkness.

When he'd first seen Kenshin and Kaoru together he had only thought how much they fit each other. Just like soulmates.

_'Like soulmates.'_, he thought, _'But can one soulmate survive without his or her counterpart?'_

Suddenly Kaoru stumbled so hard that she fell. Sano startled out of his thoughts and caught her, sinking with her to the ground and onto soft grass. Kaoru didn't look well. Her eyes were tightly shut, she was breathing hard, sweating, and her face was as white as death.

"Shhh…", he soothed her, raising a hand to gently stroke her face. He froze when he touched her cheek. She was ice-cold!

"Oh no…", he said.

Sano tried to think of what to do now.

_'The fox!'_, he thought, _'I have to get her to Megumi!'_

So he took her carefully in his arms and lifted her off the grass, then he stood up. When he turned to go quickly back to the dojo Kaoru stirred protesting in his arms. He murmured something to quiet her down. It worked. She rolled herself up in his arms and clutched the saya closer to her aching body.

He suddenly realized that he still would have to explain the events of this day to Megumi and Yahiko. And later on to Tae and Tsubame… He felt tears sting in his eyes again. _'How in _hell_ am I going to explain to them that Kenshin's… dead…?'_

_'Not yet!'_, he thought yet again, steeling himself for the task at his hands.

His time of grief would come, but it was not now. Now he had to be the sheltering mountain in the storm for his friends. He would help them through this. His time of grief was yet to come.

_'Right.'_

So Sano hastened home.

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**AN:** Wow, five pages! And in such a short time too! 

Poor Sano… he thinks that he has to be strong for the others, even if it's tearing his heart apart… Sorry guys, I know it's OOC but it's gotta be that way for a while… (And I _do_ know that that's normally Kenshin's behaviour pattern. -.-)

I really had problems with the vocabulary this time… I always had to look up the english terms I used 'coz I wasn't sure if they meant what I wanted them to mean… T.T Oh well… For example: I used the term 'streaking', then I looked up 'to streak' and it meant something entirely different from what I wanted it to! Well, the searched term was 'to stroke'…

v.v;

Whatever…

And I was searching the words 'eine Aussage machen' and my dictionary suggested 'to give evidence'… o.O But that sounds so cheesy…! Is that really the normally used term? -.- That's none of the vocabulary you use everyday so I'm not sure… .;

Yeah, so to those of you who didn't read my Profile: I'm german, therefore not a native to english (though it's my favourite foreign language, followed by japanese)… So my choice of words often seems dumb. At least to me. X(

So, if you find mistakes (spelling or others) you can either email me about them, or (better) keep them, frame them and put them on the empty space on your wall... :3

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tiffany: THANK YOU! I hope you like (or dislike) this chapter as much! I said 'dislike' too 'cause i simply don't like the idea of Kenshin dying... odd to hear from _me_, I know... But this idea kept on nagging me for quite a while now (nearly a year), so I had to finally write it. I was curious how Kaoru would react to losing Kenshin... you'll see my results next chapter. Ja ne!

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To all those guys who read but do not review: SHAME ON YOU! C'mon, it's not _that_ hard to tell me what you think of this - it's enough if you just tell me 'Like it' or 'Hate it'!

So go on and push the button!


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